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After addressing the state of the nation on 2012’s electro-orchestral America, Baltimore oddball Dan Deacon sets his sights a little lower on Gliss Riffer, a ‘back-to-basics’ affair in which he simply aims to prove that he can relax. Largely recorded on the road during last year’s support slot on Arcade Fire’s tour, these eight soundscapes may be a little less ambitious in scope, but they’re hardly the minimalistic and calming […]

As much a documentary as a conventional studio album, The Race For Space sees geeky London duo J. Willgoose, Esq. and Wrigglesworth, aka Public Service Broadcasting, switch their attention to the history of space travel on a second remarkable blend of krautrock, ambient electronica and archive audio footage. Jumping ahead several decades from 2013’s Inform-Educate-Entertain, which borrowed heavily from the public information films of the pre-war era, these nine tracks […]

Lesley Gore, the pop singer best known for her 1963 smash hit “It’s My Party,” died Monday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital after a struggle with lung cancer, according to Lois Sasson, Gore’s partner of 33 years. Gore, a non-smoker, was 68. Gore was only sixteen years old when she was signed to Mercury Records by another music legend, producer Quincy Jones. Released in 1963, “It’s My Party” went on to […]

Grammy Awards 2014 –List of Nominees

As has become the custom, The Recording Academy broadcast an hour-long prime-time special Friday night to announce the Grammy Award nominations for the upcoming year. As has also become the custom, LL Cool J did the MC honors. And as has furthermore become the custom, the live nominations show featured performances from some of music’s hottest established an up-and-coming acts, including Lorde, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and others.

And as is the custom—only a handful of categories were actually announced on the hour-long show.

Right after the broadcast, a full list of the Grammy nominations for 2014 was made public. While overall it seems that the year’s most notable artists and recordings received their fair share of nods—Jay Z leads the pack with nine nominations, with Justin Timberlake, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar garnering seven nods apiece—there were still some surprise additions and omissions. While Justin Timberlake can’t complain with seven nominations, he was left off top categories like Record of the Year and Song of the Year despite having one of 2013s most successful releases. Likewise, newcomer teenage sensation Lorde went from unknown status this year to receiving a whopping four nominations (including Record of the Year for “Royals”) but somehow managed to miss a nomination for Best New Artist. Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar (also considered a newcomer) walked away with a remarkable seven nominations, including Album of the Year for good kid, m.A.A.d. city. These head scratchers can basically be attributed to the fact that the Grammys are selected and voted on by The Recording Academy for artistic/creative excellence, not necessarily by popularity or record sales, as other awards shows.

Below are highlights of the nominations in major music categories. You can find the full list at GRAMMY.com. The 2014 Grammy Awards will air on CBS on Sunday, Jan. 26.

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About the Author

David Tillman is an independent composer/arranger whose primary work involves writing jingles for commercials for radio and television, with several film and television placements to his credit as well. David has a fascination for all things related to the music business and the music industry in general, an obsession which his wife finds to be mildly unhealthy at times. His personal tastes in music are in electronica and industrial rock, and include The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails (he loves that Trent Reznor is writing soundtracks!).
When not in his office or in his man-cave, David enjoys skiing, hiking, the occasional game of golf, and sometimes just lounging by the pool. David lives with his wife and three children in Los Angeles, CA.